


Efflorescence

by alumort



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Blood, Hanahaki Disease, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Tarot, Trans Character, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29344005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alumort/pseuds/alumort
Summary: 'The flowers are blue, like the sky you wanted to soar and explore back when we were Genin, like the birds that you admire so much always do. That's the only explanation that makes sense!'
Relationships: Hyuuga Neji/Rock Lee, Rock Lee & Tenten
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4
Collections: Naruto AU Week 2021





	Efflorescence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [raspberryfanfics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raspberryfanfics/gifts), [Nejilover022](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nejilover022/gifts).



> TW; blood, puke  
> first, shout out to nejilover022 and raspberryfanfics for cheering me to finish this + beta reading!!
> 
> second, this was written for Naruto Au Week 2021 over Tumblr, prompt; "Free day"  
> If you are a Gaara stan, I recommend you don't read this. I explore a bit of how Lee would have felt after his fight with Gaara, because Kishimoto just made him automatically forgive him like he just sneezed over him by accident. 
> 
> (I am still bitter about how easily the kazekage was forgiven by both the narrative and the fandom. Not sure if I should tag as PTSD, so I just tagged as 'trauma'.)
> 
> Hope you enjoy this :) still working on the second chapter, but I'll post it whenever it's ready~

His memory was fuzzy, but there was a time when he could breathe without fear. Without the instinctive expectation of petals coming out from his mouth, or entire flowers– that's because every time his cheeks turned warmer and his heartbeats became faster, or when that brunet did that soft smile only he could do, there would be countless petals accompanied by blood touching Lee's lips– and the ground, his throat, his hands... sometimes they were like a plague produced by himself, though at least he wasn't the only one suffering from this. It was an odd thing, but there was a slight comfort on it.

He couldn't hide this illness from the gaze of one of his teammates anymore, even if he had been successful on that task for a while. They hadn't asked much about his weird breathing, that appeared right before having the need to throw up– Tenten may have realized, sharp with emotions as she always had been, though she hadn't seen the flowers until later on.

The first time he couldn't hide his hanahaki anymore had been thanks to the Byakugan of his dear rival, which helped him see his intense coughing during their second attempt at the Chunin Exams. 

It had happened in middle of the night, and Lee had walked away so his friends wouldn't hear anything, thinking it was just going to be the side effects of eating desert food– This theory was proven wrong after his tears and blood turned the sand wet, feeling something with a slightly bitter taste coming out with all the coughing. Some parts of it were shattered and in small cerulean pieces, his hands feeling its soft texture as he was in the ground thanks to having lost balance. His instinct knew what it was, but he still wanted to investigate it further.

Lee squinted his eyes, carefully grabbing the object just to find out it was a string of elegant flowers– he couldn't recognize them, as he only knew about daisies and sunflowers and roses, not having the memory to relate all the colors and scents and shapes with names. Most blue flowers he knew(namelessly, must I add) had round edges, but the petals of these ones had a sharp tip, and combined with the red tint of his own blood made the identification of it become harder than it normally would be. The boy couldn't even smell anything that wasn't the metallic scent of his own blood; identifying was a task that he probably would give to Ino or Shino. Both had experience in that area, one with her flower shop and the other with his bugs.

With all that chaos and the bad feeling inside of his stomach and throat, it had been easy to forget that the person who had caused all of this romantic mess was the one that watched over the team that night, guarding against the dangers hidden in the sand– with his pale lilac eyes, he had seen him go away. He must have seen him laying on the ground while gasping for air, as he had come and sat at his side with a worried expression in his face.

"You're in love, huh?" the Hyuga mumbled after offering him some water, then placed a hand on his shoulder as he talked. Lee looked away, his throat feeling crispy and in pain from all the coughing– he could not drink anything now, so he just let the bottle on the sand.

He couldn't speak– all the air had been taken from his lungs at once, as if he had been punched in the middle of his chest. His Hanahaki was getting worse, but a confession may break his heart while he still had to deal with all the petals and pollen that were expelled from his lungs like they were strong winds in the sky, feeling like a true gust of sorts escaped his body all at once.

"Have you told them how you feel?"

The only reply Lee could give was a negation with his head, accompanied by a sigh escaping from his shaky lips. He closed his eyes, carefully stretching his neck as it was one of the parts that were in more pain at that moment. There still was curiosity in Neji's gaze, and it could not be stopped until he got answers– the brunet usually questioned in a subtle way, but this was no usual situation. He needed to be direct, as his teammate was getting injured by something that, according to the Hyuga, could be solved with talking and nothing harder than that.

Maybe he was right, though he had never thrown up flowers during all of his life. He didn't have the fear of rejection– if Lee confessed his love, the sickness would probably still remain inside of his damaged lungs, and he would have to deal with a shattered heart. Lee would still get injured and he would have to deal with depression, which– well. It was better if he didn't risk it.

The cause of his Hanahaki was at his side, accompanying him as the air returned to his body. And Neji did not know that he was, in fact, the reason for those strange flowers in the sand.

"I think I know who it is, as strange as it may sound," the slightly taller boy started, his hands now resting on his lap as Lee slowly started to breathe normally. "You are always talking about the Kazekage, and the flowers have a similar color to his eyes. Is it him?"

'No', Lee wanted to say, but his voice refused to cooperate with his intentions. His head managed to help a bit with a movement from left to right, but it was not enough to soothe the hot feeling inside of his chest. 'No, no, no, it always has been you!'

'The flowers are blue, like the sky you wanted to soar and explore back when we were Genin, like the birds that you admire so much always do. That's the only explanation that makes sense!'

"H-how..." Lee whispered, biting his lower lip after pronouncing that word. Even if his throat ached and screamed at him to close his mouth, he ignored the pain and spoke, with a hoarse and broken voice. "I can't be in love with him, he almost murdered me! He– I almost had to give up my dream because of him. How could I love him, when he..."

His hand started to tremble as he talked, and the younger boy closed it into a fist as to not let it show. There was a frown in his face, and Lee felt his body tensing up, the left side of himself being a permanent reminder of that battle. It always would be, with the marked scars and uncomfortable pain during humid days, and the abrupt difference of strength between the opposing side of it– to others, it could seem like nothing was different, but he felt it down to his bones. He knew, and it hurt.

Neji though, he noticed the subtle movement of his hand even if Lee had tried to keep it hidden. The brunet looked at him in the eyes, but no sound came from his mouth– he just wrapped his friend's scarred fist with his gentle palms, which still wouldn't relax no matter what.

That was what made him explode, in a way. Once he had started to talk, and then with the caring gesture from his friend– his rival, the person who had his heart covered in buds and petals and pollen without even knowing –, he could not silence himself anymore.

"I hate it. I have to work twice as hard as everyone else, and then he just... broke my bones, as if I was a mere toy. I don't even like him a little bit– maybe he has changed, but he still..." Lee muttered, being interrupted by his own coughing, to which he took a sip from the water bottle that laid in the sand. He didn't know how to feel about the surprise that crossed through his mind as he saw no petals on his hands this time, feeling the frown of his eyebrows before he could process that he was doing that.

"You have every right to hate him, Lee. It's okay," Neji said, nodding a bit as he spoke. The slightly shorter boy let out a shaky sigh, closing his eyes with his frown becoming more pronounced with every passing second. "You don't have to forgive him, you know? I'm sorry for assuming... I didn't know. You're always talking about him, so I just thought..."

"I talk about him a lot, yes," Lee admitted, opening his eyes again as he felt his hair being gently caressed by the Hyuga's hand. He managed to relax, even if just a little bit, thanks to that. "But it's just... I don't know. It's something completely opposite of love, that's for sure. I feel like... I don't know. I feel like it's wrong, but I can't help it, you know? I know it doesn't make sense, but uh... it makes sense to me."

Lee then rested his back in the sand, feeling something weird inside of his stomach as he noticed Neji did the same thing, his lavender eyes never leaving his own– his mouth was shut, but it was his way of letting him know he was listening. The taijutsu master gulped, with his trembling lips starting to let out words he could not control anymore–

He spoke about things he never said out loud, things that he didn't even write down on his diary. About how bad he felt about hating someone– hate was a word that seemed a bit too strong, but was the only one that suited. It still seemed wrong– so, in an attempt to soothe that, he always tried to be cheerful with the red haired boy.

It helped at the moment, he confessed to his friend in shaky whispers. It helped to hide all the anger he had felt towards him– but Gaara had changed now, he didn't deserve all of that... hate. 

He was kind now, and the Kazekage had apologized, he did feel bad for the injuries he had caused. And Lee had smiled at him, said it was alright even if in reality it was not– even if the scars were still there, and his muscles didn't return to their state from before the injury. Gaara had not noticed anything, or decided to simply ignore his silent suffering once again–

It didn't feel right to 'hate'. Lee was not someone that could do that, and yet... he had all reasons to do so. But it still felt... wrong. Something unbelievable, impossible– hate made your brain rot, he had learnt as Sasuke abandoned his friends and home just to seek revenge. Lee didn't want to hate and become like that boy, he wouldn't be happy if he was away from his team, his family–

Revenge had seemed good at some point of his long recovery; he felt guilty of admitting it, but it was the truth. Lee would never act on that, though… 

He didn't notice that he was crying until Neji wrapped him with his arms– it wasn't usual for him to start hugs, and that made the taijutsu master realize how emotional he had been then. They were still in the sand, so it was a bit uncomfortable, but the black haired boy didn't had enough energy to protest, not like he wanted to. He just leaned in and returned the embrace, with a strong grip and some sobs here and there.

Lee felt his chest clench, threatening to send more flowers, but he just bit his lower lip and didn't move. His friend was whispering something to him, yet his mind wasn't clear enough to understand more than a soft 'It's okay' here and there. He started to cough again after some instants but instead of the cerulean strings of blossoms, soft petals of daisies fell to the ground, their ivory perfection still visible through the layer of spit and blood. While Lee really would have preferred not to have such a condition at all, he felt a bit grateful about just spitting something more delicate than whole branches this time..

They weren't as painful as the others, given that they were smaller and softer. He was already used to those tiny white petals; they were the first ones that escaped from his mouth, a while ago, when he was still recovering from his injuries and his rival visited him every day even if he was busy with training for his battle with Naruto, always making some time for him. 

The black haired boy felt extremely drained after talking with his friend, deciding to silently follow Neji to their campsite– the Hyuga grabbed his hand, helping him keep his balance as they walked through the sand. Lee's head still felt fuzzy and his body was still in pain, and that simple help gave him a lot of relief.

As they reached the rock formations that were near their camp, the brunet guided him to where his sleeping bag was, waiting until he had got comfortable inside of it before letting go of his hands. He didn't catch Lee's faint blush, too worried about getting him safely to their campsite– thankfully, Tenten was still asleep. 

She would have laughed at them if she had been awake, having discovered his feelings for the brunet by her own accord. (Because Lee talked very often about him, with brightness in his eyes and a big smile on).

It wasn't unlike her. Tenten was extremely perceptive, and the taijutsu master was aware that he couldn't have hidden his love from her(didn't even try). She said it had something to do with her skills in fortune-telling, though it could be that she had seen him throw up daisies one time... or two, even if they had never talked about those incidents. The girl at least didn't tell Neji about her discovery, deciding to just tease Lee a bit– she was cheering on him to confess, even giving him advice, but he could not risk it.

The lavender eyed boy was observing him, an unreadable expression on his face as his body remained tense. He had never shown an interest in anyone before, and his Clan was the most close-minded of Konoha– what if he was like them? Neji had never said anything to prove it, but he had never said anything to disprove it. It was a possibility, and their friendship could be ruined if Lee even asked–

"Hey. You have to sleep," the brunet whispered, sitting at his side now. His face now had a subtle frown, but it didn't hold any anger behind it. "You have to save your energy for tomorrow. Dedicate your nights to thinking after we become Chunin. Rest now."

Lee hid even further inside of his sleeping bag, looking away as he felt his friend gently patting his head. He did that when someone in the team was feeling down, but his heart dared to beat faster at that moment. It was a miracle he didn't throw up again.

"Ah, I will try..." the slightly shorter boy mumbled, his eyes closed with more strength than needed. Leaning to the touch without even realizing (or maybe he had, but wouldn't admit it), he let out a soft sigh. "Have a good night, Neji. Remember to wake up Tenten after a bit, try to rest too, okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Good night, Lee," the brunet said, leaving his hands resting on his lap after seeing that his friend was more relaxed now. He played with his hair, taking off all the sand that was mixed with it, not worrying about it returning there once they started moving again.

"Good night," Lee added, letting out a little smile as he said so. Neji let out a huff, and hit him gently on one of his cheeks.

"Go sleep. Now."

"Okay..."

~

The exam ended sooner than expected, or that's how it had felt. The heat had made everything awful, concentration and memory included–

At least, they were now standing inside of the Hokage's office, waiting to hear if they had ranked up or not; the three knew there was no way they would have failed, yet the nervousness was still there. And it was in the other ninjas of their age too, showing clearly in some of them and others seeming oddly relaxed.

Well. It was their second try at the exam, after the last one had been interrupted by an invasion. Of course they would be nervous; another thing could get in the way, as sometimes luck wasn't on their side. Things have gone well since Naruto wasn't there, but something could happen nonetheless.

"Lee, stop bouncing your leg," Tenten whispered to him, her eyes stopping on him for a moment. The boy obeyed, not realizing that he was doing that, and she smiled softly at him. "Tsunade is going to talk now, and she could get annoyed at that. Start again after she talks."

"Sorry," Lee whispered back, looking away. By doing that, he realized that Neji was observing him, and his cheeks felt hot as the brunet let out a little smile of his own.

He could feel the bile rising up in his throat, accompanied by swirl-like movements deep inside of his chest. Having talked with his rival about something so... deep, and him not saying anything at all in regards of that long talk– it had left Lee more sensible to his gestures than usual. But he bit his lower lip, deciding to focus his attention on fidgeting with the bandages that covered his hands, not bothering anyone that way.

Shortly after, Tsunade started to speak to them with a gentle expression on her face. She announced that they had passed, though her wording had led to a misunderstanding– she said that 'Tenten and Lee were Chunin' but, without mentioning their teammate, the two thought Neji hadn't managed to pass.

It was unbelievable. He was incredibly skilled, and Lee argued against this– that if all the team didn't pass, he didn't want to be a Chunin. Tenten agreed, wanting to speak up with him until the Hokage made them a sign to wait.

"That's not what I meant, brats. Neji has passed the exam, but he will be promoted to a Jounin instead," the blonde exclaimed, a grin decorating her face.

"What? Really?!" Lee said, looking at his rival now. His dark green eyes were brighter with happiness, and he wrapped Neji with his arms. "That's great, Neji! I'm so proud of you!"

"You deserve it!" Tenten exclaimed, giving both of her teammates a tight hug. "But... Wouldn't that mean we're not going to be in a team anymore?"

"Not necessarily. Neji will get some missions that are only for Jounin, and your mentor will accompany him for the first ones. Otherwise, until you two rank up, you can still be a team," Tsunade commented, her head resting on her hands.

The three were smiling even more brightly than before with this, overjoyed at hearing that they wouldn't need to go on separate ways in their ninja paths.

At least, not for now. But it was still something good– and nobody on their squad would argue against being able to work together for more time.

"Team Gai is forever, right?" One of them asked in a soft tone, none of them letting go of the embrace for a while.

"Yes. I hope so," Neji whispered, a soft sigh escaping from his lips as he and his teammates separated, already missing the hug but in no way going to express it directly.

~

One of those days in which the whole team couldn't be together, thanks to difficult missions that the two Jounin had to take without them, Lee and Tenten decided to go on with their training, or well. The boy had been so insistent that his friend accepted... but she still was running around with him, therefore it still counted.

(She had been convinced by the offer of having sesame dumplings for lunch, because she had said it was 'too early to spar', so that part of training had to be skipped at least for now.)

They went on for some hours, ending up just playing around after being done, sitting on the grass and simply spending time together. Usually, missions came after stretching for a bit, but they were still Chunin and couldn't take them without Gai... or, Tsunade may have given them a break without telling them until their teacher came back. It was likely the last probability, as their team worked better when the four of them were in the same squad, so that could be the reason that they could relax in the first place.

It was boring, even if not being in the hospital was a perk of said boredom. Tenten rested her back against a tree, crossing her arms against her chest with a frown. Lee looked at her curiously, his hands leaning to grab some wild flowers that were growing near the place where he was sitting while he observed his friend.

"Is something wrong, Tenten?" the boy asked, returning to calmly sit under the shadows of a tree and to fidget with his bandages instead of messing with the growing plants.

"Yes, but no. I want to go on a mission, but we can't without Gai. Don't take me wrong though, I like not being hurt, but I want to go and... I don't know," she exclaimed, sighing after talking. She took a deep breath before continuing. "I want to do something, not only training. I hope we get a mission soon, but we'll have another break because they others are coming back today and need some time to recover, but still! I want to go out..."

"Wait– they're coming back today?"

"Yes, Lee! You forgot? Ugh, you have such a terrible memory sometimes! Terrible!" Tenten complained, gently hitting him in the forehead with her knuckles. Lee giggled softly at this gesture, a soft smile decorating his face. "Have you taken your hormones this week? Did you remember that, at least?"

"Yeah, I don't forget about that, Tenten! I use alarms… And what about you, huh? Did you take yours yesterday? You normally tell me when you do, but you did not!" Lee questioned then, crossing his arms over his chest with a pout. 

"Oh, I thought I told you. I did!" the brunette replied, sticking out her tongue towards her friend, frowning like she was angry (she was simply finding this exchange hilarious)

"I'm not the only one that forgets things, then! Checkmate!"

The weapon master frowned, groaning as she realized that the boy just wanted to counter her jokes, in a way. She kept quiet as the two walked around, searching for a place to sit down for a bit, but then she smirked as an idea crossed her mind.

Maybe he would be mad at her for doing what she was going to do, but Lee had a weakness that wasn't physical. It didn't cause any harm to joke around with him, and the boy would just laugh with her after the embarrassment was gone, so...

"You know, talking about the others. Neji has a soft spot for you," Tenten said as a revenge of sorts, giggling softly as she saw how Lee's face became darker in only an instant. "He never hugs me! He just puts his hand on my shoulder, nothing else. He must really appreciate you."

Lee had always been very emotional, and it was happening here as Tenten poked fun with him about his crush, a tiny smile appearing on his face when she mentioned him– he couldn't help but notice the way his stomach turned, and how he felt his chest bloom with warmth just by hearing his name. Lee replaced his grin by a pout as soon as he heard Tenten laughing at his side.

"I– um! We're friends, he has a soft spot for you too! He just… doesn't want to make you uncomfortable!" He argued, coughing to hide his embarrassment– though it was too late, as his friend was very perceptive of things like feelings, apart from the fact that she had teased him on purpose. She just laughed at his suggestion, having a little too much fun at her task of annoying him.

That kind of sharpness was the reason behind why she was good at fortune telling, or that's what she usually said. It was true that whatever came up in her cards ended up being correct, eventually. The brunette didn't depend on that too much, just doing it for a hobby that was scarily accurate from time to time.

It was, also, a way to not depend on destiny or fate too much. And Neji was the one that paid more attention to what the cards said from the three– he had been obsessed with fate when he was younger, thanks to being born in the Side Branch of his Clan. Not reading palms and that sort of stuff very often had... relaxed the other boy, even if slightly.

But he was away, on a mission. So Tenten made Lee sit down on a bench, smiling softly while the black haired boy gulped. She seemed impatient to get answers, but didn't rush at all, trying to hide her eagerness. In fact, she relaxed on the bench, looking at how the small birds of the park approached them while Lee played with his hair, biting his lower lip as one of the creatures sat on top of his left foot.

Then another bird joined it, and the taijutsu master started to cough softly. It wasn't that annoying at first, but not even drinking from a water bottle could stop it now. 

The brunette looked at him with worry in her eyes– she didn't expect that, or to see scattered blue petals on his lips, the bigger ones being smeared with red. She placed a hand on his shoulder, realizing that he had been holding the flowers inside of his mouth for a bit, and felt extremely bad before he even let them out.

He had never... puked because of teasing. Had she gone too far? Or was he just more sensitive now, after having that long talk with his crush? The boy had told her pieces of their conversation, but... maybe it had made him appreciate Neji more, if it was possible even. And that's why he was like that now, with glassy eyes and an uncontrollable cough.

"I'm sorry," Tenten whispered to him, carefully patting his back as an attempt to make him feel slightly better. He looked away, letting out all the plants that were hiding yet making sure that they didn't touch her, trying to not get her dirty with his blood and everything else.

She bit her lower lip once her friend threw up some flowers again, not really knowing what to do then. Lee always tried to keep them hidden from her, from everyone, and now... Tenten couldn't do anything more than give him a careful hug and wait, until his body relaxed enough for him to be able to breathe again, and pass him something to clean the reminders of the throwing up.

There was a common misconception that Hanahaki caused death. But it was not thanks to the sickness in itself– it was because of the flowers that came with the disease, which in many cases varied in size and roughness. Cases in which there were bigger plants were rare, and the death rate just depended on how many times the infected threw up said big flowers– people usuallg said that their size of them indicated the amount of love one had to their crush, but for Tenten that was bullshit. Hinata would have died before even leaving the academy if that was true, and she was still breathing and barely throwing up dandelions whenever she was reminded of her crush.

In summary, nobody knew much about this illness. There was an operation to remove the source of the petals, that would also remove the love towards the person that caused it in the fiest place– rumors said that it also removed your ability to feel anything, given that most people recovered were apathetic towards the world… not many people wanted to risk that.

The truth behind those rumors was still very unknown to the world, too. And Lee was a very loving person– if the girl told him about this surgery, and its risk, he would get really upset. Because there was no way he would want to lose all of his feelings, even if his life may depend on that.

So if that wasn't going to work, and her teammate wasn't going to confess, only one thing could help… And she was the best one at it.

The two didn't tend to rely on the cards, but it could give comfort to her friend for the time being. Maybe he would calm down enough, and the flowers inside of his chest would become smaller and smaller, until they weren't damaging his throat anymore.

It was worth a shot, the girl concluded, while seeing her friend trying to breathe deeply and holding to her with a bit of too much strength. She didn't say a word about that, slowly let go of the embrace as Lee calmed down and managed to look at her in the eye.

"Hey, Lee! I have something to distract you a bit," Tenten exclaimed, cleaning her companion's eyes with a napkin she had in one of her scrolls. There was an impressive amount of things inside of her seals, so Lee wasn't surprised anymore by whatever she had in her hands. The boy felt comforted by having guessed correctly what they were going to do, though he didn't made any sound.

He blinked slowly, his mouth aching too much to talk with her at that moment, so Lee just focused on the deck she took from one of her scrolls. 

Each card was dark blue on their back, with a couple of abstract decorations that were either silver or white– Lee didn't pay attention to that enough to figure the correct color, he just observed how Tenten shuffled the cards with care and swiftness, having done it for a long time; she even used tarot at the academy, which resulted in the teachers getting angry at her. 

"What is your question?" the girl wondered, her gaze not leaving her task at any moment. "Or I can ask something, if you can't talk yet."

"It's– it's okay," Lee murmured, swallowing before speaking again, his voice becoming clearer. "Just... I want to know if, uh, if we're going to get together. I know it's silly, but– I have to know, even if I know it will be hard to happen."

"Okay, romantic boy! If you feel you can handle the answer, I won't complain about the question," the brunette informed him, shuffling the cards for some seconds more with a short shrug of her shoulders. "Give me a number, and I shall tell you about your faaate~"

"Hmm..." He mumbled, scratching his chin as he tried to think of a number. It wasn't important at all, but Lee still wanted to wait a bit as his friend continued her task. "I think… four."

Tenten smiled softly, counting until she got to the card she needed. Her gaze fell on her companion again, as she left it on her lap without looking at what she had got.

Then she let the boy see it, while observing it too– the illustration was upwards, of a lady with a white dress relaxing on the sand, a yellow quarter-moon decorating her head as if it were a crown. Her hair was brown and long, flowing freely and reaching to her chest, which was half uncovered though Lee didn't care about that.

Looking down to the illustration, he could see sliced fruits surrounding the woman, a couple of green plants, and another half moon (though that one was bigger, and pale).

The name of the card was confusing and long, but that must have been his own dyslexia pestering him and not because of the font of the letters.

Tenten smiled softly once she saw him focusing on the card, nodding with satisfaction at seeing what the deck had given them. She rested her back against the wood of the bench once again, waiting for her friend to ask something else. She didn't rush with tarot, so she always waited like this.

"... What does it say?" Lee asked, looking to his friend in the eye– the question wasn't just intended for the spiritual meaning, and he didn't even need to make it clear, though sometimes she forgot but quickly read out loud to him the name of the card.

"It's the high priestess! She appeared upwards, so the meaning is very, very good," the girl said, pointing at the mixed letters as she talked. "It means that you have to use your intuition, even if it may seem scary. And that you need patience and to be honest! And... that you should totally ask Neji out, because he's most likely going to say yes."

"I feel like you're making that up," the taijutsu master protested, a small pout on his face. "It doesn't mean that, right?"

"It does! Well, it doesn't say a name, of course– but it does say that you have to 'uncover what's hidden', and that means..."

"Asking Neji out?"

"Exactly, you're starting to get it."

Lee sighed softly, looking to the ground with a frown. His friend never missed with the cards– but that option seemed too far away from the moment they were living on, like when he had entered to the academy and he had to motivate himself to not give in to the insults his classmates called him, to be able to graduate and finally become a ninja through hard work.

He had done so, and he was successful– there still were some things he had to learn, but he now had a team and a family. If he had given up, he would have never got any of that.

There was hope, but... There was also a problem that came with the prestige of the Hyuga, even if Neji wasn't the heir of the Clan. 

There was a chance that he still was raised to hate people that weren't as society wanted them to be, and in the past Lee was almost convinced of that. 

Nowadays that was dubious, with how nice he had become with the help of Gai and Naruto, but...

"But what if he's... like most Hyuga are? What if he doesn't accept me, for– both gender stuff, and my crush on him," the boy mumbled, his leg bouncing though he didn't even realize. His friend put a hand on his shoulder, and he stopped to look at her in the eye. "What if he hates me, and– I don't want him to hate me again, Tenten. He was so mean… I like him being sweet as he is now, what if I ruin that?

"Lee. He can't be, you dummy," Tenten argued, gently pressing her knuckles to his forehead, not injuring him at all. She let out a soft sigh, realizing the worry in her companion was still present, becoming stronger and stronger with time. "He asked you if you liked G… sorry, I mean, the Kazekage. He is a boy. If Neji was homophobic, he would have asked if you still liked Sakura– or me, even!"

Lee frowned, considering her words; and when he realized that yes, those would be the options that his dear rival would have used that night, if his suspicions were true... His dark green eyes widened, and a grin replaced his serious expression, accompanied by a warm feeling in the depths of his chest. A big part of the worry faded away then.

It wasn't the same sensation that he felt when he was going to throw up flowers– it was more like a gentle caress to his heart, like the sprouts around his lungs had dissipated for this moment of joy, allowing him to grin brightly once again.

"There is a chance," the boy concluded, one of his hands resting right on top of his heart, sensing how quickly it beated with the newfound excitement. 

"There is a chance!" Tenten repeated, joy showing in her words. She smiled at him, his happiness being extremely contagious– it was one of his best qualities. "And you know what the spirits told me the other day?"

"You mean, you overheard him saying...?"

"Tsk! You ruin the mystery! I won't tell you what I know now, you disrespected the spirits," the brunette complained, turning around with her arms crossed over her chest and a pout on her face. "You would be even happier had you known what I do. Too bad!"

Lee tilted his head to the side, both in surprise and confusion, but didn't complain. Instead, he rested his head on his friend's shoulder and hugged her with one arm, staying like that for a while until she booped his nose and giggled.

"What is this secret you know, oh, spirit-talker!" He questioned, dramatically closing his eyes as he talked. He took a deep breath before talking again. "Please, share the knowledge you have! I'm sure it will help me enjoy my spring of youth!"

"Nooo, again with the youth!? It's too early in the morning for youthness, Lee!"

"Youth, youth, youth, youth!!" The boy exclaimed, sticking out his tongue and returning to sit normally. He heard his friend laughing, and he started to do the same without even realizing. 

Once both calmed down, she turned to see him again, with her cards still on her hands. Tenten started to shuffle them again in silence, looking at him in the eye.

"Well, as I was saying. I think... Neji may be outside of the binary, if you get me. I have reliable sources, whose name starts with G and usually talks too loudly," she whispered, seeing that there were more people in the park than them. She stopped shuffling her cards, and started talking at a normal tone once again after they were out of sight. "If that's true, you totally have a chance! You can ask the cards if you want, about how he feels."

"Wait, wait. You mean... he's like us? That's awesome!" Lee said, looking at his friend to the eye with a grin. "I didn't even know! I was worried he wasn't going to accept me, or that– you know how the Hyuga are, after all. But he's–"

The boy was interrupted by his friend, who put her palm on top of his mouth to make him close it. She looked to the sides before freeing him, but he still remained quiet.

"Hush, don't say it in public. Not everyone is accepting," Tenten reminded him with whispers, denying with her head. She could hear her friend had started to bounce his leg because of nervousness, but she didn't really care about that. "Civilians specially, and there aren't many ninja around here, apart of us."

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry!" Lee apologized, scratching the back of his head. "Um, now... I have to ask another question, right?"

"Yep. It's almost lunch time, so I'll draw two cards more before you go get me my sesame dumplings," the weapons master added, letting out a playful smirk.

"Oh, um. I want to know... How does he feel about me? Maybe he likes me, too, but I just don't know how to ask him right now."

"That's okay, Lee. You don't need to rush, you know? Even if he likes you back..." she muttered, trailing off while shuffling the cards again– it was something she liked doing, or it wouldn't be repeated as much as it was. Then the movement stopped, and the girl looked at Lee with a slight tilt of her head. "Number?"

"Three."

The card that Tenten got this time was one that pictured another lady, though it was upside-down. She had blue clothes on, and a hand was extended towards the sky– that hand was surrounded by the shape of a moon, and the woman's head was too. 

It was colored with a dark atmosphere, yet the moons were bright. The lady seemed worried about something, though Lee couldn't tell exactly what her expression was.

He looked at his friend with a curious gaze and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest while remaining silent. Lee didn't even need to ask at this point, as Tenten started to talk before he even could, with a confused expression on her face replacing the confident one she always has on her readings.

"It's The Moon. Because it's upside-down, the meaning is different– obviously. It's just... something is weird here," the brunette admitted, frowning. "I'm not sure if the card is talking about you, or about him."

"But we asked about him, right? Why is it confusing then?"

"Because this card, like it is, means that the person is confused and unhappy. That they don't know what to do, like– to overcome anxiety, stuff like that. But it suits both of you!" Tenten complained, sighing softly. "Maybe he likes you too, but isn't sure? I think we should leave it there, because it's getting way too complex."

"Oh, he– he may like me back? For real?"

There was something on the boy's voice that made Tenten nervous, but more because his own health was at risk. He couldn't focus on that for long, or more flowers would come out from his mouth... but if she ignored his question, Lee would feel bad.

There wasn't much to do then, apart from gently stroking his hair with a soft smile and nod. Before her friend could talk again, she decided to shuffle the cards again, managing to catch his attention with that.

"How will our mission go?" the brunette asked, taking out the ninth card of her deck without saying much more, changing the subject to also change the direction where his friend's thoughts went to.

Lee tilted his head to the side as he saw another illustration of a girl, this one having long hair and a dark blue hood. She had a lantern and a stick in her hands, while looking to the right to something that wasn't in the illustration.

"Which one is this, Tenten?"

"The Hermit, and it's upwards. It means that, uh... one can feel that the current path is not working well. And that they're trying to see what kind of work may give them joy, basically," Tenten explained, squinting her eyes to then save all the cards inside of their box, deeming like there had been enough readings for that day.

(She would use them later, by herself, but Lee was already getting restless so she decided that using them alone would be the best option.)

"Oh. Maybe we'll be disappointed by the mission," the boy suggested with a confused expression in his face, scratching the back of his head. "Do you think we should worry?"

The leaves of the trees rustled softly with the wind, or something else, before the girl could answer. The two felt a hand grabbing their shoulders, and remained completely still until someone else talked– they relaxed at hearing his voice, though, and by how he acted like he hadn't just appeared from between the plants. As if he had been there the whole time.

"Worry? About what?" their teammate wondered, tiredness revealed in his voice and the grip of his hands. He sighed softly after that, going to sit between his friends with closed eyes.

His hair wasn't brushed at all, and his skin had scratches and bruises everywhere. His mission must have been hard, because he usually didn't get many injuries like that… there was some blood in his lips, even.

"Ah, Neji! Welcome back!" Lee greeted, carefully hugging his friend. Tenten imitated him, though she seemed annoyed by something.

"Don't scare us like that!" the girl complained, pinching Neji's nose. The brunet frowned at this, though he didn't say anything.

"You always do the same to us, Tenten. Why wouldn't I?" the Hyuga argued, a funny smile appearing on his face.

"Yes, but me is me, and you are you!" she complained again, crossing her arms. "You're more sneaky than me, it's not fair that way."

There was silence for some seconds after that, broken by the soft laughs of the team. They sat there for a bit, simply enjoying time together, until their stomachaches made them remember that it was noon already– to this, the taijutsu master was the first one to talk, and his friends observed him as he did so, Tenten squinting her eyes as if his words were funny to her.

"Tenten and I were going to eat some dumplings, do you want to come with us? I'll pay this time," Lee offered with a smile and a wink, and Neji imitated the smile in a softer manner. 

"Of course. I'll go to rest after that, so I won't be able to stick for long," the brunet exclaimed, nodding, deciding to ignore the wink. "We can hang out more tomorrow, what do you think?"

"Sounds great!"

"I think I'll head home for today, guys," the girl admitted, grabbing her belly as if she was hurt, even if her expression was neutral as if nothing had really happened. "I'm not feeling well right now..."

Lee looked at her with confusion in his eyes, but before he could talk, Tenten gave him a thumbs up and a wink like the one he did before. Neji was even more intrigued than the taijutsu master with this, knowing that the girl loved dumplings a little too much– the brunet decided to not ask, assuming that she must be feeling extremely ill to turn the offer down. He wasn't looking at her to see that she did some weird gestures to the black haired boy, so Neji didn't ask anything afterwards.

Lee was both mad and glad with Tenten for leaving him alone with the Hyuga, though he wasn't going to complain out loud about that– unexpected, yet... nice. He knew that the girl would invade him with questions the next day, but he wasn't going to drop this chance.

Neji smiled at him, noticing that the taijutsu master was deep in thought, and that alone made his cheeks warm up and forced him to look away. The brunet tilted his head to the side, and decided to attempt cleaning some dust from his clothes before talking again.

"Well, let's go," he mumbled, letting out a soft sigh. "I'm so hungry. The rations were stolen so I couldn't eat much in the mission, apart of stuff I hunted or gathered..."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that– don't worry then, just eat however you want to, I'll pay this time," Lee offered, and both of them started walking towards a restaurant in the village. "How was the mission, Neji? Was it hard?"

"Yes. It's the first one without Gai, and well. One doesn't realize how much you depend on your mentor until... Well. That's why the rations were stolen, I guess," the Hyuga replied, shrugging. "Always having someone to back you up became an instinct, so... It was a mistake that I can't repeat."

"I'm sure you will not, my dear rival. You said it, it was your first mission alone! You'll get the hang of it soon, think of it as training! You don't start being the best," the taijutsu master exclaimed, a soft smile decorating his face as he grabbed his friend's hand, trying to reassure him. Neji squinted his eyes, not really surprised by the action. "Don't be so down, please! You're an extremely skilled person, this is just a hard moment but you will overcome it soon!"

The brunet looked at Lee's face for a moment, before letting his gaze wander off around the two. His lips moved without producing any noise, though he didn't seem annoyed at all, deciding to remain quiet during the rest of their walk.

He didn't let go of Lee's hand, and the taijutsu master blushed a bit after realizing this detail– the boy let himself show a tiny smile, enjoying the comfortable silence that was there for the rest of the walk and for the time they spent eating in the restaurant.

**Author's Note:**

> I made a Team Gai discord server, feel free to join!  
> [ Here ](https://discord.gg/erXp2PdB8t)


End file.
